The Best Step by Step Guide To Hire a Virtual Assistant In The Philippines
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Creating More Leverage
Let me start with a bold statement. Hiring a Virtual Assistant from the Philippines was the best business investment I made this year.
Growing a business requires the ability to create more leverage. Without leverage you never scale. You never reach the next level. Because you can’t get new clients in fast enough. Whilst doing the existing work at the same time. If you are a service based professional and want to 2X or 3X your business you’ll need an offshore virtual assistant (VA.) Someone that can help you with tasks that either don’t produce revenue or that someone else can do better than you.
Imagine getting an extra 40 hours of work done for just $2.80 an hour!
Possibly you’ve thought about hiring a virtual assistant before. But don’t know if it’s the right time, what steps to take and in what order. Having been through the process let us help guide you. We’ll show you everything you need to know about the hiring process.
We’ll take you through every aspect. Both the rationale behind the decision to hire and how to do it correctly. We’ll also ensure you are making the right move. That you will achieve an ROI from taking on an extra staff member. We believe it’s best to hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines for three key reasons.
A Return On Investment
Everything we do in business needs to provide us with an ROI. Unless we keep this in mind we will go broke. Here at Eccountability we calculate two different ROI’s. The old fashioned Return On Investment but also your Return On Intellect. How can we do more with less. If there isn’t a strong business case to hire a virtual assistant then you’ll soon regret the decision.
You hire a VA to solve one of these three common problems:
- Implementation of your next growth phase
- Work on projects with a bigger profit margin
- Leverage your time better (work fewer hours)
Two out of three of these will give you a measurable ROI. Working fewer hours will have a more long term benefit. Your sanity and ability to sustain your workload.
There are 6 key stages to go through and the key questions to ask when you’re deciding to hire a virtual assistant.
#1 When is the right time?
Feeling Stretched (not enough hours in the day.) – Working later, on weekends or missing deadlines.
Makes financial sense – You can afford to bring on a VA.
Growth Plans – You have goals and targets you want to achieve
80% Capacity – You are reaching capacity and want to hire before you get too busy
I shouldn’t be… – What are the tasks you are doing that you shouldn’t be doing?
Reactive activities – You don’t have time for longer term planning or implementation
#2 Before your Hire Someone
Calculate their ROI – They need to produce more value than they cost
Mission Critical – Is it urgent enough
Be Realistic – They won’t be able to do everything
Future Need – Are you hiring for the longer term?
Prepare your Calendar – Block out time to hire, on-board and train them
Manage Them – Don’t expect them to be immediately self-sufficient or self-motivated
Training – Virtual assistant skills need ongoing upgrades
Access to resources – What tools and software do they need access to
Paid Test Task – As part of the hiring process test their skills
#3 Giving Clear Tasks
Be Specific – What are the core virtual assistant tasks
Definition of done – Define this for both parties.
How long – Expectation of how long and when it should be finished
Next? – What happens when finished
Correcting errors– Allocate time to correct the work
Keeping Track – Managing the workload
If Not Complete – What is the accountability and responsibility
Systemise the process – Create SOP’s (Standard Operating Processes) as you go
#4 Setting Expectations
90 Days – Approx. time to get up to speed
Start Slow – Don’t overwhelm them with too much too soon
Communication – Have regular meetings
KPI’s – Measure what’s working
Time – Allow a buffer until they improve
Training Guide – What does this look like?
Project Management – What software to use
#5 Training your VA
Training Every Week – Small improvement will compound
Your Systems – Get feedback on your own process
Replication – What can be replicated or automated
Downtime – How can they fill dead time?
YouTube/Udemy – Which courses would they benefit from?
#6 Common Mistakes
Lack of preparation – Not being ready to allow them to succeed
Mission Critical – Working on the wrong things
Short Sighted – Chasing easy wins not long-term goals
Time – Not allocating enough for them or you
Patience – Expecting too much too soon
Communication – Not learning their style or modifying yours
Training – Not providing enough
Systems – Not having robust systems in pleace
Do the Numbers Stack Up?
The average salary in the Philippines is approx. USD$242. So this is not “slave labour” or a sub-standard wage. When hiring a virtual assistant from the Philippines expect to pay between $250-$750USD PCM. Depending on their experience and the level of complexity of tasks you want done. It’s also the rate for hiring them direct. Using sites like Upwork or Freelancer work out more expensive as there are additional admin fees.
Now you’ve build a solid business case and worked out your ROI, what virtual assistant skills you need and what outcome you expect. You’ll be confident that the final decision will be the right one.
If you’d like our complete step-by-step guide, including templates for screening survey, interview step plus a water tight contract/offer then download your FREE VA hiring guide.
If your virtual assistant frees up your time to scale your business from a one to one-2-one to a one-2-many offer let us show you the exact roadmap to implement one.